The Engagement (CLEAN)
by MomoMouat97
Summary: The non-explicit, non-lemon version of my other story. Tells how Baatar and Kuvira came to be engaged, set before book four but after book three. BAAVIRA


**The Proposal/First Time (CLEAN- NO LEMON)**

Kuvira's eyes snapped open when a door slammed nearby, her heart pounding in reaction to a fading dream. No matter how hard she tried to keep ahold of it, before long it had completely slipped from her mind, leaving her with a hollow feeling that made her heart ache. Whatever dream she'd been having, it had been either extremely good….or terrifyingly bad.

She turned her attention back to the noise that had startled her awake. Lying flat on her stomach, Kuvira listened to the sound of fading footsteps in the distance. Where they were going, she had no idea, but their owner was certainly in a hurry and didn't care about the sleep cycles of others.

With a groan, she rolled over in her messy bed sheets, squinting angrily at her bedside clock.

_Two in the morning. Why on earth was somebody stomping around the train at two in the morning? For spirits' sake…_ She grumbled, struggling sluggishly to her feet with a huge, gaping yawn.

Kuvira supposed she better go check it out, just in case her guards had let an intruder slip inside. There would be hell to pay if that was the truth. If there was one thing she despised more than those who lived with their hearts on their sleeves, it was incompetent workers.

Shaking sleep from her mind, Kuvira flung her arms out in a well-practiced move, bracing herself for impact. With nothing but the faintest clink of metal, her armor snapped over her thin nightgown, instantly molding itself to her figure. The first few times that she had attempted to do that without Suyin's help, she had knocked herself off of her feet and onto the floor, quite an embarrassing feat.

Kuvira flinched at the thought of Su, biting down roughly on her lip hard enough to draw blood. The last thing she wanted to do right now was think of the person she'd betrayed nearly three years ago. She didn't need to let her emotions get the better of her, once again, when her life might be on the line. It was enough dealing with the ones that arose from seeing Baatar every day.

Her face flushed with pleasure, and she allowed herself a moment to think about her boyfriend of slightly over two years. Although it wasn't her ideal situation, entering a relationship with her top advisor and partner, when he had asked her she had been helpless to deny him. Kuvira smiled when she thought about how they came to be, remembering how she had tackled him to the ground and kissed him impulsively. But now was not the time to daydream about the man she was in a relationship with.

Fixing her face into a blank mask, she stepped into her shoes and silently bent her bedroom door open, slipping out of her dark room in a noiseless blur. Kuvira crept down the dark hallway, her feet barely brushing the carpeted and metal floors. Years and years of dancing as well as backbreaking training had given her the ability to move quickly and evasively without a single sound.

When she'd reached the end of the hallway, Kuvira pressed herself flush against the door, carefully looking in the foggy glass window illuminated with the faint glow of a candle. There was no sound coming from inside of the closed door, and she took a deep breath before swiping her hand across the metal frame. Instantly, she was inside, and another flick of her wrist found strips of metals flying through the air, pinning the hands of the occupant against the wall with a sharp cry of shock.

"Kuvira? What on- what are you doing?" Baatar looked at her in shock, dangling a good half-foot off of the ground, supported by the metal cuffs imprinted in the wall. His feet flailed around looking for purchase, finding it on his overturned desk, whatever papers he'd been poring over scattered around the room in messy piles.

Kuvira slowly inched out of her battle stance, breaking her crouch and letting her arms sink back down to her sides. "I could ask you the same question. You do realize what time it is?" Snapping her fingers, the metal flew out of the wall and back onto her forearms, freeing her boyfriend and allowing him to fall softly onto his desk.

"I was just…working on some plans." Her ears perked up, instantly catching the lie in his voice. But, why would he be lying to her? He certainly had no reason to. Curiosity piqued, she strode forward with her hand outstretched, about to snatch up a scrap of paper dangling half off of his desk.

"No! Don't!" Baatar dove at her, effectively shocking her enough to not bend at him. Kuvira's face tinged red at being so close to him, flush against his robe-clad body. Even after two years, their relationship had consisted of nothing more than chaste kisses, with the occasional ones that left her disheveled and breathless. She averted her eyes, anxious that he would see where her mind was going. "You'll ruin the surprise!"

"Surprise?" Kuvira demanded, trying to wrestle her way out of his muscular grip. The very idea made her stomach turn anxiously. Giving up on escaping from his grip, she glared up at his snickering face. "You know how I feel about those."

Ever since he had been knocked over by her overly-enthusiastic self, Baatar had been working on gaining strength, working himself to the bone with the rest of their soldiers. Some days he would simply fall asleep at the dining car table, a sight completely endearing to her. It had paid off, however, and now he was equally matched with her in a fight, except for the bending block.

"You'll like this one." He promised her, turning Kuvira in his arms so their faces were millimeters away. "Hey, you."

"Hey," She murmured, swallowing at the look on his face. Kuvira closed her eyes with a small sigh of happiness when he lowered his mouth to hers, feeling his smile against hers. Arms looping around his back to run through his hair, she pressed herself closer to him, if that was possible. His answering groan elicited feelings in her that kept her awake at night, all hot and bothered, pressed against her sweaty sheets.

The kiss ended far too soon for her liking, and she looked up at him with a dazed expression, chest heaving from a lack of air. Baatar's own eyes held a slightly glassy look, his lips swollen from their kiss. Kuvira just had to stretch up onto the tips of her toes to kiss him again, only stopping her progress when a huge yawn threatened to split her face in half.

"You're dead on your feet," Baatar chuckled, caressing her cheek with his hand. Kuvira found herself leaning into his touch, closing her eyes with a happy sigh.

Her eyes flew back open when he scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder half-hazardly. "Baatar! What in Vaatu's name are you doing?"

His chuckle resonated through Kuvira's body. "Taking you back to bed, miss Great Uniter."

"I can walk." Kuvira whined, pounding her bare fists on his back less than gently. He only laughed in response.

"I know." She huffed, crossing her arms in mock annoyance as he blew out his candle, carrying her out of the room and back down the hallway leading to their rooms. When Baatar loosened his grip on her body, she slid down, grabbing onto his shoulders for leverage.

She pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. "Goodnight, Baatar." His answering smile lit up the corridor, and he gave her a brief, one-armed hug before turning to walk the short distance to his own bedroom. Kuvira watched his door shut behind him before turning to enter hers.

A sharp knock on the door jolted her awake for the second time that morning. "Master Kuvira, Baatar Jr. requests your presence in the dining hall at your leisure."

She groaned, throwing her hands up over her eyes when the light shining through the shades hit her in the face. It took Kuvira a moment to form a coherent thought. "Inform him I am on my way."

"It is done, Great Uniter." Kuvira slowly moved her arm away from her eyes, squinting against the annoying rays of sunlight. Grumbling to herself, she sat up once more, stretching tiredly. By the time she had gotten back to sleep last night, it was well past three in the morning, and her body certainly was now protesting that fact.

Normally, Kuvira was up and ready to start her day at six in the morning, right when the sun began to climb in the sky once more. Punctuality was one of her favorite things, and she prided herself with remaining in a steady, constant routine.

_The sacrifices I make for Baatar…_ she rolled her eyes sarcastically at herself while popping the stiff joints in her back.

Yawning, Kuvira ambled into her bathroom, stepping under a jet of cold water, successfully invigorating herself. She did not stay under the chilled stream for long, scrubbing herself down mechanically before wrapping herself in one of her fluffy towels and drying off. Shivering, she hurried to dress in a set of her clean professional robes, bending her armor to mold around her body once more. Kuvira carefully separated her hair into two small sections and one larger one, plaiting the two and wrapping them back in an intricate bun, her signature hairdo.

Occasionally, when she was alone in her room or even sometimes with Baatar, she would keep her hair down in a single braid down her back. Most days, it was too saddening of a reminder of the life they'd left behind in Zaofu, and she tended to avoid wearing it like that. Her military bun was much more professional and conservative, anyway.

In less than ten minutes she was exiting her room and walking off down the hallway with her back tall, the very image of power. Any semblances of tiredness or messiness had vanished the instant she stepped outside of the bedroom. Cordially, Kuvira nodded greetings to her men and women she passed, reveling in their praises and groveling. Oh, how she loved their groveling. This was what she lived for.

Kuvira strode with purpose to the dining car, and, with a wave of her hand, dismissed the two guards standing by at the door. She wanted to eat breakfast with her boyfriend without the chance of interruptions.

When she opened the door, she was greeted with a dark, and seemingly empty room. In an instant, Kuvira was on edge, crouching down low with two thin strips of metal hovering above her ready palms. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming- but this time, there was no cheerful boyfriend to greet her.

She wanted to punch herself. It appeared that she had fallen for some sort of trap. Spirits only knew where Baatar really was. And she had just sent away her only backup, as well. Kuvira was on her own this time.

A noise from her left caused her to lash out, satisfied when there was a clink of metal hitting flesh, closely followed by a groan of pain and the thump of a body hitting the floor. Kuvira fumbled behind her for the light switch, flicking it upwards and causing the dining car to be flooded with light.

Any of her apprehension dissolved when she caught sight of a handcuffed and blindfolded Baatar on the floor beside a small table with a silver platter on top of it. Her face flashed with anger.

"Baatar, I told you I don't like surprises!"

Furiously, she called back her metal, forming it back into its position on her shoulders. Baatar glared at her half-heartedly, climbing back to his feet less than gracefully. He took a moment to straighten out his clothes and his glasses, askew on his forehead. "I did give you warning, you know."

Kuvira silently fumed, angrier at herself than him. Taking advantage of her silence, Baatar continued, face eerily calm. She knew he was hiding something, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Anyway, I promised you that you'd like it, didn't I?"

While she watched, he lifted up the covered platter, carrying it over to the wooden table with some difficulty before turning to her with a raised eyebrow. It must have been heavy if he was having difficulty carrying it. Rolling her eyes, she walked forward, eying it apprehensively. Baatar looked at her, eyes twinkling behind his rectangular glasses, and Kuvira found that she couldn't stay angry with him, her face softening slightly.

"Okay, what is…" she trailed off when he yanked the lid off of the platter, eyes going wide at what she saw. A huge green and silver cake was sitting in the dead center, clad with various decorations, both in frosting and edible structures. Three layers of it, each smaller than the first, sat on top of the other, elegant and simple at the same time. Kuvira felt a smile growing on her lips when she saw the scenes depicted in the careful frosting job, from rocks to boulders to beautiful mountainside villages. It was their empire, the Earth Empire.

She froze when she reached the top of the cake. In delicate script were the words, H_appy twenty-second birthday, Great Uniter._

Today was her birthday. How on earth had she forgotten? And, more importantly, how had Baatar remembered when she hadn't? For the past few years, she hadn't even celebrated her birthday, and back in Zaofu she had never had a huge affair, usually just a larger than normal dinner party. But never a cake; Suyin had never gotten her a birthday cake to celebrate, perhaps because she had never asked for one. Or maybe it was because Kuvira was not really her daughter, at least, in the ordinary sense.

It didn't matter to her anymore. Kuvira was looking at her first ever birthday cake, and it was breathtaking. With soft eyes, she looked up at Baatar, who was fidgeting anxiously, awaiting her reaction.

"Baatar…" words failed the earthbending master, and her throat choked up with uncharacteristic emotion. "This is the sweetest thing anybody's ever done for me."

He visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping down slightly. "Oh- well, I'm glad you like it."

Kuvira threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly to her. With her face buried in his tunic and his arms around her, she had never felt more at home. "Like it? It's absolutely beautiful! I love it!"

His chuckle in response made her entire body shake. "A beautiful cake for my beautiful girlfriend." Kuvira blushed furiously, glad her face was hidden from view. She was thankful that she had sent away her guards, happy that nobody except Baatar would ever get to see her in this state. Only once had any of them seen her less than perfect- on the day that they had started dating- and they never would again, if she had a say in it. Her private affairs would remain private- thank you very much.

She pulled away, pulling him down into the seat directly next to her. For a few minutes, she just stared at the cake, not wanting to cut into it. "It's a damn shame to ruin something so amazing, but at the same time I can't wait to taste it."

Baatar snickered slightly, using a long serrated knife to cut the two of them decent sized pieces. "Yes, let us enjoy our _extremely _nutritious breakfast together."

"Just this once," Kuvira warned him, half-serious. "We don't want to ruin our figures."

They ate in silence, enjoying the savory taste of vanilla cake mixed with fruity filling and creamy frosting. It was a comfortable silence, not filled with the pressures of making pointless conversation. After a few moments, Baatar's hand found hers on her lap, and she clasped it to her tightly. Kuvira would never admit it out loud, but she felt safest with him at her side and his hand in her own.

Baatar turned to her once they had finished their sweet meal. "I've told the guards to leave us be all day today, so we can do whatever you want." Kuvira's face lit up, glad that Baatar would not be crushed today under a mountain of paperwork like he usually was, happy that she had him all to herself.

Kuvira looped her arms around his neck again, pecking him on the lips. "Let's have a quiet day. I'm still tired from you waking me up this morning."

"Oh come on, it was an accident!" he whined, standing up and pulling her with him. She only rolled her eyes at him with good humor, not actually upset.

Kuvira hesitated before slipping her hand from his, not wanting other people to accidentally see them like that. Together, they headed towards the observation deck at the back of the train.

"This has been an amazing day."

Kuvira sat curled up next to Baatar, face turned towards the sunset directly across from the train tracks. The wind blew around her face in gentle gusts, little stray hairs dancing across her skin in little waves, but for the most part the body of the train shielded them from the chilling evening air. The two of them had been out here most of the day, just enjoying themselves and entertaining each other with menial games and jokes.

Kuvira could honestly say it had been one of the best days of her life.

He hummed out his assent, his arm wrapped around her waist loosely. Together, they watched the sun set the rest of the way, the overhead lights flickering on automatically to bathe the two of them in soft, artificial light.

Baatar finally spoke. "I wish it didn't have to end." His voice was wistful, and Kuvira knew what he felt. Running an entire, broken nation was not easy, to say the least. Their whole lives were dedicated towards bettering the lives of their people, and the hours that they put into their work were not little at all. Days like this were rare and hard to come by, and who knew when the next one would be?

"I know," Kuvira whispered, sighing regretfully. "I know."

The stars were popping up by the time Baatar cupped her chin in his hand, effectively drawing her attention to him. Kuvira looked at him curiously, noting how pale he had become. In fact, he almost looked ill, shaking and sweating and looking altogether too anxious. "Baatar, are you okay?"

"Fine," he quickly spoke, nervously chuckling and running his other hand through his hair. Kuvira didn't buy it, and raised her eyebrow at him expectantly. Baatar swallowed loudly.

"I-I was thinking….and I wanted to ask you… IloveyousomuchKuvira, willyoumarryme?" It all came out in a rush, the words blending together in an unintelligible mush.

Kuvira stared at him, confused, genuinely not having understood a single thing that had come out of his mouth. "Excuse me?"

Baatar took another deep breath, clenching his jaw. When he spoke, his voice was shaky, yet firm in his resolve. "I love you, Kuvira... will you marry me?"

Kuvira's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in surprise. Her mind was reeling, and she couldn't form a single coherent thought. This was anything but what she had expected him to ask her. Marriage?

Sensing that she was too shocked to speak, Baatar quickly dove into his pocket, pulling out a small metal box. When he opened it, a small metal ring caught her eye. It was a simple ring, with a sparkling square gemstone on a thick metal band.

Kuvira thought it was beautiful.

"I… I know it's quite soon, but," Baatar paused, licking his dry lips. "But I really do love you, Kuvira. And it would be an honor to be your husband."

Panic flashed briefly in her mind, reminding her of the horrors her parents had inflicted upon her as a child. Kuvira fought back the bile rising in her throat, reminding herself that this was Baatar and her, not her parents. They were completely different people, and irrelevant to here and now. Her boyfriend, who she genuinely loved with as much of her heart as she could, was pledging his ultimate loyalty to her, something that caused a warm feeling to start in her heart.

She turned her wide eyes from the ring and back so she was staring into his eyes. The answer flowed easily from her lips, masking any of her doubts. "Oh, Baatar, of course I'll marry you. Nothing would please me more." Kuvira bit her lip, focusing on her happiness that well outweighed her doubts, reminding herself over and over that this would be a good thing.

Relief flooded his features, and he reached down to pick up the ring. Kuvira slipped off her gloves, feeling their uncomfortable absence. It irked her to have them off for even a moment, but Kuvira pushed the nagging feeling away. She shoved them into an empty pocket as Baatar took her hand in his own, carefully positioning the token of his affection on her ring finger.

Kuvira lifted her hand up, the flawless stone glinting in the overhead light. The metal band was thick enough for her to be able to sense it with her metalbending, something that pleased her greatly. "This ring is absolutely perfect, I love it, honestly." she told him, using her bending skills to shift the ring very carefully to the very center of her digit, mindful not to bend the delicate oval.

She pulled him in for a kiss, digging her bare hands into his shirt to coax him closer. Kuvira's eyes shut as she lost herself in her boyfriend- _fiancé's,_ lips. Baatar only broke away to take a breath, before trailing gentle kisses down her neck, causing her to gasp. "Baatar! Somebody could walk in and see us!"

"Then let's go somewhere else." Desire pooled in the pit of her stomach as Kuvira gazed up at Baatar with wide eyes. Liking what he saw in them, he took her hand and hurried down the hallway once more, slowing down to peer around corners before taking off again, nearly dragging her behind him in his hurry.

Kuvira tried not to laugh, her feet stumbling over each other. By the time they'd reached her bedroom, he was pale again, and didn't move to go inside. She sighed, opening the door herself and pushing him in with her, effectively removing any of his doubts. Honestly, she still had her own, but she did know that she loved him and wanted to be with him.


End file.
